Malvazia Candida
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2100
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Dark chocolate desserts, artisanal blue cheeses, roasted nuts and dried figs
✨ Technical Specifications
Malvazia Candida represents the historical pinnacle of sweet Madeira. Originally brought to the island from Crete (then known as Candia) in the 15th century under the patronage of Prince Henry the Navigator, this legendary grape variety became the source of the highly prized, luscious nectars favored by European monarchs and immortalized by Shakespeare. Over the centuries, Malvazia Candida became exceedingly rare due to its low yields and susceptibility to disease, making surviving bottlings from Pereira D'Oliveira highly coveted treasures. D'Oliveira ages this rich, sweet wine using the traditional canteiro system in seasoned oak casks stored in warm lofts. This slow, natural oxidative process, combined with the grape's naturally high acidity, creates an extraordinarily complex profile of molasses, dark chocolate, dried figs, and exotic spices, balanced by a vibrant, clean finish.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1850 by João Pereira d'Oliveira, Pereira D'Oliveira is an esteemed, independent family-owned Madeira house based in the historic center of Funchal on Madeira Island, Portugal. Renowned for its vast reserves of historic library stocks acquired through family heritage and the assimilation of notable historic lodges, the house practices traditional canteiro aging in seasoned oak casks, allowing natural warmth to slowly concentrate and mature the wines over decades or even centuries. Under generations of family stewardship, the house crafts exceptionally long-lived, complex fortified wines renowned for their vivid acidity and depth, spanning dry to luscious styles made from noble varieties including Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malvasia, and legendary rare bottlings of Terrantez.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Malvasia Candida
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
19-20%